Microfluidic circuits with fluid walls survive violent agitation

Overview
Conventional microfluidic circuits take days to make, and skill to operate. The introduction of 'Freestyle Fluidics' changes this; simple-to-operate circuits can now be made in seconds (Walsh EJ et al, 2017, Nat Commun 8, 816). Liquids in these new circuits are confined by walls made of a different liquid (not solid ones)! Therefore, one might think these walls are fragile – but they are not. In this YouTube movie (runs in real time), a circuit containing blue dye was printed on a 6 cm Petri dish, overlaid with a transparent and immiscible liquid to prevent evaporation, and placed on a shaker. Despite the violent agitation, the circuit remains intact.

Nuclear Structure and Function Research Group